Social Isolation

Subtitle

The Romanian Orphans: Social Isolation 

Introduction: 

Through 1969-1989, Romania was deeply affected by it’s communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Due to his strict laws and bans on contraception and reproduction, families were forced to send their children to orphanages. After the fall of the Communist government in 1989, the standard of living for Romanian orphans was broadcasted worldwide after an American magazine, 20/20, documented what the conditions really were. The orphanages were understaffed, abuse was rampant, neglect was a way of life, and unfortunately thousands of children were living in these crammed and disorganized conditions. After reading about this in my psychology classes, I became very affected by how these children were treated and I wanted to find out how children who were adopted from these conditions of social isolation grew up and their interactions in drastically different conditions affected them while still researching those who didn't get out of the orphanage. 


Learning Objectives

  • What were the conditions of the orphanages?
  • What was the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?

  1. What were the social effects growing up in the orphanages and after 'graduation'?

  2. What were the social effects after being adopted and brought to a safe environment?

  • What are the mental effects and challenges Romanian Orphans face?

What were the conditions of the orphanages?

The conditions of the orphanages in Romania and some still today are deplorable. Rows of urine soaked cots and cribs fill rooms with sometimes two children sharing that sleeping area. When 20/20 returned to the Sighetu institution in Bucharest, they found that infants were laying in cribs with bottles propped up to their mouths. There little to no human contact. Some children were even confined to "straightjackets or tied to chairs with their own shirt sleeves" (ABC News) if they misbehaved or if the staff thought they were a danger to themselves.


What was the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?

The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) began in 2001 and was a controlled trial of 136 children who were placed into foster care as an intervention for those who were abandoned at or around the time of birth and placed into one of the six institution for young children in Bucharest, Romania. The idea of foster homes was still a relatively new option for Romania but studies found that the children that were placed in foster care had "improved developmental trajectories, including recovery from psychopathology towards adaptive behaviors and improves sensory capacities while reducing self-stimulating behavior and emotional and behavioural problems," (Rus, A. V., Ito-Jäger, S., Parris, S. R., Cross, D., Purvis, K., & Drăghici, S). Half of the children went to high-quality foster homes while the rest remained in institutions. The BEIP did assessments throughout the children’s lives beginning at 22 months, then at 30 months, 42 months, 54 months, 8 years, and then 12 years. At the completion of the project, results showed that early institutionalization led to more "delays in cognitive (ie. IQ), socio-emotional behaviors (ie. attachment, isolation), a heightened susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. For the the other children, living in a foster home enhanced their development but specifically the neural activity (EEG), language, cognition, and social-emotional functioning" (Bucharest Early Intervention Project)--showing little signs of similarity between the institutionalized children.  The study found that being placed in a home setting before the age of 2 was key to developing normally. 

What were the social effects growing up in the orphanage and after 'graduation'?

Unfortunately, due to the conditions and the lack of staff in the orphanages, these children were left to fend for themselves physically and mentally. Toddlers and young infants spent their days in their cribs unable to have normal attachments to caregivers or to interact with other children. Because of their isolation, these children banged their heads against their steel cribs/walls and rocked themselves to not only get warmth but also physical contact on their bodies. As they grew up, children were put together into rooms but still the interactions weren’t normal. Once these children became 18, they ‘graduated’ from the orphanage and were sent out into the world. Most became homeless or "earn a meager living by begging or prostituting their bodies" (ABC News) since they didn’t know how to function properly in society, had no education, and had never known anything outside of the orphanage walls.


What were the social effects after being adopted and brought up in a safe environment?

Though some children were lucky enough to be adopted and brought into welcoming and supportive households, they were still greatly affected by the traumatic treatment they received in the orphanages. Jane Aronson, a physician and founder of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation found that almost, if not all the children had severe retractive attachment in which the child is ‘unable to have affectional connection to an adult, to a parent, incapable of exchange of love," (Washington Post). A study conducted by the International Journal of Behavioral Development also found that when the Romanian children were adopted into families, they often would "withdraw from their peers, fail to stand up for their own rights, be unwilling to share, and fail to respect the privacy of peers," (Fisher, L., Ames, E., Chisholm, K., & Savoie, L.).



What are the mental effects and challenges Romanian orphans face?

For those who were adopted from the orphanages and grew up in a family, mental and emotional challenges were something that had to be dealt with. For example, in 1991, Izador Ruckles was adopted into an American family and at first, things seemed to be going well until conflict began to arise. In an interview with NPR he said, “I respond better when you beat me, or when you smack me around...That never happened. When you show me kindness, when you show me love, compassion, it seemed to make me even more angrier.” Unfortunately for some of the other orphans that were adopted, “They were so violent, so traumatized, the family couldn’t even care for them,” Izidor says. For the worst cases, families sent children to US institutions or back to Romania when they were unable to console them. Jane Arson, the founder of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, came to the conclusion that because the Romania’s communist-era children never received affection or made any attachments, they "suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatric illnesses and bipolar disorder," (Washington Post).



Sources

  • Fisher, L., Ames, E., Chisholm, K., & Savoie, L. (1997). Problems Reported by Parents of Romanian Orphans Adopted to British Columbia. International Journal Of Behavioral Development, 20(1), 67-82. https://bridgew.on.worldcat.org/oclc/438937311?databaseList=3684,2375,1461,2273,3284,2229,2328,1931,1875,2006,1697,2268,3313,3378,2784,2267,3036,239,638,1639,2849,1638,1934,3879,2868,2604,2264,2483,2263,2482,2262,2261,283,2260,2281,1842,2138,2237,2259,2897,2478,3369,1542,2477,3201,1847,2879
  • Rus, A. V., Ito-Jäger, S., Parris, S. R., Cross, D., Purvis, K., & Drăghici, S. (2014). Behavioural and Emotional Profiles of Romanian Foster Children: A Brief Report. Child Abuse Review, 23(5), 342-352. doi:10.1002/car.2248 https://bridgew.on.worldcat.org/oclc/5689023042?databaseList=3684,2375,1461,2273,3284,2229,2328,1931,1875,2006,1697,2268,3313,3378,2784,2267,3036,239,638,1639,2849,1638,1934,3879,2868,2604,2264,2483,2263,2482,2262,2261,283,2260,2281,1842,2138,2237,2259,2897,2478,3369,1542,2477,3201,1847,2879
  • News, A. (1970). Inhumane Conditions For Romania's Lost Generation. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=124078&page=1
  • Bucharest Early Intervention Project | Newton, MA 02459. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://www.bucharestearlyinterventionproject.org/index.html
  • The Washington Post. (n.d.). Romanian orphans subjected to deprivation must now deal with dysfunction. Retrieved November 29, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/romanian-orphans-subjected-to-deprivation-must-now-deal-with-disfunction/2014/01/30/a9dbea6c-5d13-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html?utm_term=.c7b2e3a25e1d
  • K. W. (2014, June). The Lasting Impact of Neglect. Retrieved November 17, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/06/neglect.aspx
  • Orphans' Lonely Beginnings Reveal How Parents Shape A Child's Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/02/20/280237833/orphans-lonely-beginnings-reveal-how-parents-shape-a-childs-brain